088497

One of the most unexpected and surprising results from recent XMM-Newton observations of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is the discovery of a new X-ray variability pattern from the active galaxies GSN 069 and RX J1301.9+2747 both reported by our team recently. In both cases the X-ray light curve exhibits recurrent X-ray bursts of high amplitude (up to a factor of 100 with respect to the stable quiescent level) dubbed quasi periodic eruptions (QPEs). QPEs have been observed in GSN 069 over the course of about one year and the latest observations show that the phenomenon has apparently disappeared. We propose here two relatively short XMM-Newton observations of GSN 069 separated by about 6 months to clarify whether QPE disappearance is transient or permanent. [truncated! Please see actual data for full text]